Effects of Poultry Manure, Urban Waste Compost and NPK-20-10-10 on the Growth, Yield and Shelf-Life of Two Varieties of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) in the Western Highlands of Cameroon

Organic and inorganic farm inputs in the form of fertilizers is a management practice to improve soil fertility for the growth and development of cultivated crops. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the growth, yield and shelf-life response of cucumber (Classico F1 and Poinsett-76) to fertilizer applications. The experimental design was a randomized complete block in split plots with three repetitions of the treatments; Control (To: No fertilizer application), poultry manure (T1:20t ha-1), urban waste compost (T2:20t ha-1), NPK-20-10-10 (T3:0.7t ha-1), poultry manure (10t ha-1)+NPK-20-10-10 (0.35t ha-1) (T4), poultry manure (10t ha-1)+urban waste compost (10t ha-1) (T5), urban waste compost (10t ha-1)+NPK-20-10-10 (0.35t ha-1) (T6). Collected data on growth and yield variables from emergence till harvest were analyzed for variation in R version 4.0.1. Results showed that variety and fertilizer had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on all growth variables with Classico F1 variety recording the highest mean values for all growth and yield variables. T1 recorded the highest in all growth variables (vine length, No. of leaves and stem diameter), except for the leaf area in T5 of Classico F1 (404.20 cm2) with the lowest in T0 of Poinsett-76 (87.87cm2). Variety, fertilizer treatments and interactions showed significant effects (P < 0.05) on yield variables. Classico F1 was superior to Poinsett-76, yielding 31.91tha-1 in T1 while Poinsett-76 produced 20.36tha-1 in the same treatment. The lowest yield was recorded in the control treatments (4.45 tha-1 for Poinsett-76 and 7.55 tha-1 for Classico F1). Shelf-life evaluation showed the highest weight loss (20%) in fruits obtained in NPK-20-10-10 treatments within 21 days of storage. These results revealed that the integration of poultry manure or urban waste compost and chemical fertilizer (NPK-20-10-10) improves the growth and yield of cucumber as well as the shelf-life of harvested fruits in the western highlands of Cameroon.